APDavid Ortiz homered twice against the Tigers in a 7-2 Red Sox victory. Is this a sign that he is on his way back, or was it merely a glimpse into the distant past?

As maddening as it can be to see him wave at fastballs, I enjoy watching David Ortiz play baseball. Each time he comes to the plate I feel like there’s a chance that something special can happen. I sit and hope that he’ll turn back the clock for us and remind why he was once considered the most dangerous hitter in the game.

At the same time, no one wants to see a former great hang on for too long. There’s nothing worse than seeing a player past his prime struggle to do what they once made appear effortless. People older and wiser than me often talk about how painful it was to watch a 42-year-old Willie Mays falling about the Shea Stadium outfield in his final season with the Mets. For my generation, seeing what’s become of Ken Griffey Jr. is the equivalent.

It’s hard to watch. Griffey is the most graceful player that I’ve ever seen; now he’s been relegated to a cheap punch line.

I worry that this is what is going to become of Ortiz at some point.

If Friday was any indication, that point hasn't come yet. He hit two home runs off of Max Scherzer, who, if we are being honest, has been terrible this season. But that’s not the point. Ortiz, even with his reduced bat speed, will continue to turn back the clock now and again because power is the last thing to go. When he gets his bat on the ball he can still launch it places most players will never reach.

Is that enough, though?

All Ortiz can do is hit home runs. He doesn’t have any other skills. He can’t play a position and no longer hits for average or draws walks like he used too. All that’s left is to hope that he’ll hit a ball really, really hard. When he fails to do that, he becomes a detriment to this team.

According to Fangraphs.com’s Wins Above Replacement statistic, which measures a player’s value against a league-average replacement player that could be found in the minor leagues, Ortiz has been teetering dangerously close to being simply average for a few years.

His WAR numbers over the past few years:

2006: 5.9
2007: 6.7
2008: 2.0
2009: 0.8
2010: -0.2

As you can see, Ortiz was solid as recently as 2007, but has been in steady decline since. 2008 Big Papi was worth keeping around. Recently, even with all the home runs, he has meant little to the overall success of this team. Someone who produces more consistently, even without the power, could easily surpass his overall contribution.

And maybe there is. He was there on Friday, and has been for a few days now. Ortiz has hitting .333 since May 1. I wonder, though, if it actually means anything. Are these signs that he’s on a comeback, or is it merely just a glimpse into a distant past?